[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 5]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 6606]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 IN HONOR OF THE AAA STATE CHAMPION KENDRICK LADY CHEROKEES BASKETBALL 
                                  TEAM

                                 ______
                                 

                      HON. SANFORD D. BISHOP, JR.

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 22, 2008

  Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the first 
girls' State championship basketball team from the city of Columbus, 
Georgia, the Kendrick High School Lady Cherokees.
  On Saturday, March 8, 2008, the Lady Cherokees finished a perfect 
season with a 79-67 win over Carrolton High School. The victory 
followed three years of close calls for the Lady Cherokees--in 2005, 
2006, and again last year in 2007--during which they found themselves 
in the finals or semifinals of the state basketball tournament, only to 
lose by slight margins.
  However, 2008 proved to be the year of the Lady Cherokees. Their 
victory in this year's AAA State championship embodied 3 years of 
frustration, hard work, and determination bursting forth into a 
singular moment of athletic perfection and teamwork.
  With a 32-0 record, the Lady Cherokees became only the third girls' 
basketball team in the last decade to complete a perfect season. 
Additionally, the team's seniors completed their high school career 
with an astonishing 121-5 record.
  I cannot put into words the amount of pride that everyone in 
Columbus, and indeed in the Second Congressional District, has in being 
able to call this outstanding group of young women its own. They have 
accomplished a special goal, one that could not have been possible 
without the unrelenting support and encouragement from their coach, 
Sterling Hicks, as well as their families, schoolmates, and everyone in 
the community who believed in their ability to bring home a State 
championship trophy.
  Madam Speaker, these special young women have worked hard, 
persevered, made sacrifices, and developed the character that will help 
them to succeed in other aspects of life.
  I am proud to represent them and once again congratulate them on 
their history-making achievement.

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